


Pride Blinds Us

by trcybell



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Accidental Marriage, F/M, Fluff and Angst, Happy Ending, Romance, Sexual Tension, Swearing, loosely based on pride and prejudice
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-10-18
Updated: 2020-10-01
Packaged: 2020-12-22 19:23:59
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 8,667
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21081830
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/trcybell/pseuds/trcybell
Summary: This story is loosely based on Pride and Prejudice. Adrien is the CEO of Agreste Fashion who can't seem to get along with his head designer Marinette Dupain-Cheng. Both of them try to deny the attraction they have for each other or at least make up excuses for why they can't be together.  However, when celebrating their friends upcoming marriage the two of them find themselves married.  Marriage, divorce, marriage again, and a lot of getting to know each other better to find their happy ending.





	1. Chapter 1

Marinette walked through the door of her apartment, threw down her purse and screamed. Alya, her roommate, and best friend, walked out of the kitchen with a grin on her face. “Have a good day at work again?”

“That man is an egotistical jackass,” Marinette screamed again. 

Alya just shook her head. This had been the routine for the past year, ever since Marinette started working as the head designer at Agreste Fashion. “What did the egotistical jackass do now?”

“Nothing new. Just being his arrogant self and belittling my work. I sometimes wonder why he even hired me to begin with.” Marinette went to the kitchen to pour a large glass of wine before flopping down on the couch. She was proud of herself that she didn’t spill any wine this time. 

“Maybe he thought you were hot and wanted a piece of you,” Alya replied going back to the kitchen to finish dinner. 

Marinette choked on her wine. She glared at Alya in the kitchen. Only Alya would bring it back to sex. “I highly doubt that. I think I am below his standards.”

Alya shook her head again. Her roommate clearly didn’t realize how gorgeous she was. Probably from working under her boss too long who wasn’t the most complimentary. “I would say that he is below your standards but the man…” Alya seemed lost for words but was really trying to gauge how her best friend would respond. 

Marinette sighed. “Godly comes to mind.” She shook her head. She had to stop thinking of her boss. True the man was every woman’s dream - tall, golden hair, piercing emerald eyes. But he was a bully, jerk, and so full of himself. She had to admit when she first started working at Agreste Fashion she had fantasies about her boss and the things they could do in his office and she would be lying if she didn’t still have them once in a while. But the guy was a grade A class jerk. When she indulged in a fantasy he usually interrupted with the crap that he spewed from his mouth. 

“I still think there is another side to him that we haven’t seen. I mean how else can you explain Nino and him being best friends.”

Marinette nodded in slight agreement. Nino was one of her favorite people in the world. It was still hard for her to believe that the laid back DJ was best friends with her uptight boss. Nino and Marinette had become fast friends when he started to pursue Alya. They met at an Agreste Fashion Christmas party. Marinette didn’t want to go alone and had brought Alya. When Nino was introduced to them, he couldn’t leave Alya alone. He followed her everywhere. And now they were engaged and sickeningly happy. 

“Well, he and Nino have been friends since childhood. Maybe he just overlooks the gruffer side of his friend,” Marinette replied. 

“Gruffer side? I think that is the nicest thing you have said about your boss since you have worked there.” Alya replied with a laugh.

Marinette smirked. It was nice to have a best friend that she could vent to about her boss. Everyone at work was too busy singing his praises to say anything negative or truthful. She was also grateful that it hadn’t changed since Alya started dating Nino. She wondered what she would do once they were married. Maybe Nino wouldn’t mind her coming over every day to scream about his best friend. Though Marinette didn’t think that she was that lucky. 

“Enough talk about work. What’s for dinner? I’m starving,” Marinette asked walking into the kitchen. 

“Girl you need a man. All you talk about is your boss and food,” Alya laughed as she set the table. 

Marinette nodded in agreement. Too bad the man that dominated her dreams was her pigheaded, smoking hot boss. Marinette sighed internally and sat down to eat dinner. 

************************************************************************************************************************

Adrien spotted Nino right away when he walked into the bar. He plopped down on a stool by his best friend and asked the bartender for his usual. 

“Good day at work?” Nino asked with a knowing smile. Nino knew that Adrien never invited Nino to a bar after work unless something at work really upset him. 

“That woman is going to be the death of me,” Adrien sighed into his drink, downing it in one gulp and motioning for another one. 

“I assume that woman you are referring to is the best friend of the love of my life,” Nino replied looking at his friend wondering what Marinette could have possibly done now. Or more likely what one of Adrien’s employees had said about her. Adrien might be a hard ass at work, but Nino noticed he was fiercely protective of his head designer. 

Adrien hesitated for a moment looking at his drink. “Well...it wasn’t really her. It was Paul. I overheard him ranting about how I never look at anyone else’s designs but Marinette’s. Then he stated that it was because Marinette and I were sleeping together. The asshole didn’t even have the decency to imply we might be. Worse, most of the people with him agreed.” Adrien was waving his arms around his head at this point in frustration. He had been dealing with this nonsense since he hired Marinette no matter how he treated her. 

“I’m guessing that Paul no longer works at Agreste Fashion?” Nino asked knowing full well how many people were fired for saying things of this nature. It gave Adrien that reputation of being a hard ass since he wouldn’t come out and say exactly why they were getting fried. He did have a reputation to uphold outside of work that couldn’t be tainted with a sex scandal and Nino knew he didn’t really care if people thought he was a hard ass. He had his few close friends and that was fine with him. 

“Of course he was, but I waited until the end of the day. Though because of him, I had to seem like I wasn’t favoring Marinette’s designs which I don’t like to do. I mean why do people think I hired her as my head designer?” Adrien exclaimed throwing his hands up once again in frustration.

“Because she’s smoking hot,” Nino offered as a suggestion making sure he moved out of reach of a punch he knew was coming. 

Adrien glared at Nino. He knew his friend was just teasing him but this was the shit he had been dealing with ever since he hired this infuriating woman. It seemed that no one cared that she was the most talented designer to set foot on the fashion scene since his own father. All they cared about was her looks. 

“Well if they got to know her, they would realize it would never happen. She is too damn bossy and doesn’t know when to keep her thoughts to herself,” Adrien huffed out. 

Nino threw his head back and laughed. “I thought that is why you hired her. She didn’t give in to your bullshit.”

“I hired her because of her talent. I do expect some type of respect from my employees.”

“Whatever dude. I think you just need to ask her out,” Nino replied looking at his friend to gauge his reaction. 

Adrien choked on his drink and NIno began patting his back. Adrien looked at his friend with huge eyes. “Why would you say that?”

“Dude, it’s obvious that you want her,” Nino replied, trying to hold back a laugh. 

“I’m probably not up to her standards in men,” Adrien stated which caused Nino to raise his eyebrows. “That is just a fact. It doesn’t mean I want to ask her out.”

“Whatever dude. I think most people would assume she’s below your standards,” Nino back away again from Adrien’s punch to the arm. 

“Below my standards?” Adrien asked dumbfounded. “That woman is every man’s dream as long as she didn’t open her mouth to talk.” Though if Adrien was being honest, he had many fantasies about his head designer that he didn’t mind the noises coming out of her mouth. 

Nino just shook his head at his friend. He knew Adrien had trust issues that stemmed from his mother leaving, his father being a control freak, and every girl that threw herself at him just wanted his money. “You need to get laid.”

“Ain’t that the truth,” Adrien replied motioning for another drink. Too bad the only girl that accompanied him in his dreams was his bossy, know-it-all, smoking hot head designer. No other woman could measure up to her, which frighten Adrien slightly when he dwelled it on too much. He shook away that thought. “I’d settle for dinner though. My treat.” The two of them headed out for dinner at their favorite restaurant leaving any talk of work back at the bar.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Just the next day.

“You fired Paul?!” Marinette practically screamed as she stormed into Adrien’s office the next day. She threw her hands up in frustration when Adrien didn’t reply right away. “Why?”

Adrien slowly looked up to his head designer. He wondered if she realized that it was not her place to question who he fired or hired for that matter. He raised his eyebrows at her. “That is none of your business Miss Dupain-Cheng?”

Marinette glared at him. He knew that she was trying to bring a more enjoyable atmosphere to the workplace by getting people to call each other by their first names. Adrien had not been pleased with this idea, so he always tried to get in as many “Miss Dupain-Cheng” as he could in a conversation. Well, two could play that game.

“Well, Adrien, Paul was on my design team so I think it is my right to know why you fired one of my teammates. Especially when we are working on the Agreste Gala. You know that it is the biggest show for our company.” She was trying to not shout as she pointed an accusing finger at her boss. 

Adrien cringed when she used his first name. Did this woman have no respect? “Miss Dupain-Cheng, if you must know, I didn’t think Paul’s designs were up to par with the Agreste brand. I felt he was slowing us down and didn’t want anything to get in the way of the gala,” Adrien lied. He wasn’t about to tell her the real reason that he fired Paul. 

Marinette just stared at Adrien. Paul was one of the best designers they had. She had worked with him on tons of projects over the year and never once had Adrien said anything bad about his designs. She valued his input. “Well, Adrien, I would prefer you to talk with me first before firing one of my teammates. I could have given you more information on how valuable Paul was and what an inconvenience it will be to down a member.”

“Miss Duapin-Cheng, I do not answer to you,” Adrien replied almost glaring at her insubordination. 

“On this matter, you should, Adrien,” Marinette replied frankly. 

“Miss Dupain-Cheng, I will take what you said into consideration, but don’t you have a gala to work on?” Adrien dismissed her with a flick of his hand as he went back to work on his computer. 

Marinette held back a scream. She hated it when he dismissed her. She knew for a fact that at other fashion houses that the owner and the head designer worked as equals. Not here at Agreste Fashion. Adrien Agreste was too important to come down among the mere mortals. She stomped out of his office and across the hall to her office and slammed the door. 

Marinette still couldn’t believe he had fired Paul and the reason he gave didn’t make any sense. This could put them back weeks, and they didn’t have the time. The Agreste Fashion Gala was the event of the year. It was a masked gala where they showcased their new designs in the windows of the second floor with live models. They needed enough designs to make changes for 20 different models 20 times through the night. Unlike some fashion houses that had a winter, spring, summer and fall line, Agreste Fashion has their gala line. It had to cover all the seasons. Of course, they added smaller lines during the line but nothing like their gala line. This was Marinette's first gala and she was nervous enough, now she was down a designer. She couldn’t even think of hiring a new one and getting them up to speed to help out. There wasn’t enough time. She took out her phone and texted Alay. 

Marinette: CODE RED. I need more than wine and yelling tonight.

Alya: He most of really fucked up if you are using a CODE RED. Luckily it’s Friday and I have the perfect plan.

Marinette: Should I be worried? I remember last time with a CODE RED...wait I don’t remember and that was the problem.

Alya: :) You needed that. Nino is playing at a new club and I get to write the scoop on it for the blog. You are coming. 

Marinette sighed. She knew she wanted a distraction and that is why she texted Alya. However, clubs really weren’t her scene. Plus she was hoping for a girls' night. She knew Nino would understand but she did feel guilty about bashing his best friend. Oh well, she thought. She at least could get wasted and for a while forget about today and the gala. 

************************************************************************************************************************

Adrien looked at the door that was just slammed. He wanted to growl. He knew deep down that the right thing would have been to talk to Marinette first but he just didn’t want people thinking he was sleeping with his head designer. He wished people would just stay out of his personal life. He also wished his head designer gave him a little more respect. Oh sure, he egged her on a little with all the Miss Dupain-Chengs, but her first name initiative really bothered him. This was a workplace and people needed to show respect. Especially to him. 

Adrien stood up and closed his own door. He didn’t want to see her for the rest of the day. He grabbed his phone and texted Nino. 

Adrien: Hey I know we just hung out last night but please tell me you don’t have plans tonight. 

Nino: No can do, my bro. I’ve got a gig at Club Miraculous. You should come. You haven’t seen my newest set yet. 

Adrien stared at Nino’s response. He didn’t really want to go to a club they weren’t his scene. On the other hand, he did want to support his best friend. Maybe for one night he could go out and forget about his work problems. 

Adrien: I will be there just text me the address.

Adrien put his phone down and got back to work. He was hoping that the club was dark and loud enough that he wouldn’t have to interact with people. After a shake of his head at the impossibility, he went back to work.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was supposed to post yesterday but my computer decided to update for a couple of hours. Sorry it is so short. Hopefully I will post chapter 3 later today.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Part one at the club.

Adrien couldn’t believe his luck or rather his bad luck. He was currently sitting in a booth at Club Miraculous watching Nino’s fiancée and best friend dance out on the dance floor. Adrien was beginning to think the way Marinette was moving should be illegal. This was not going to help his dreams at night. Nino couldn’t take his eyes off Alya and wanted to desperately join her, but he knew his best friend was not into dancing. Nor would he ever dance with Marinette. 

“So tell me what happened today,” Nino said dragging his attention way from Alya.

“I don’t really want to talk about it. I just came to listen to your set and get wasted,” Adrien replied not even bothering to look away from Marinette. 

“Whatever dude. You know I’m always here for you.”

“I know. You are the brother I never had.”

Nino laughed at that. It was what they always said to each other. Neither of them had brothers which made their friendship so important. They continued to talk about Nino’s work, family and everything going on except Agreste Fashion for the next hour. 

“Dude, I wonder where the girls went?” Nino said looking at the dance floor once there was a lull in the conversation. “I am about to start my set.”

“Probably to the bathroom. You know Alya wouldn’t miss it,” Adrien replied. He didn’t want to admit that he knew for a fact that they headed to the bathroom. That would be admitting that he couldn’t stop staring at his head designer and following her every movement. 

“It’s nice that you’ve come around with Alya. You don’t know how much it means that you are finally ok with her,” Nino said jabbing his friend on the shoulder. 

“How many times to I have to apologize for that? I was just trying to protect you. You were just becoming a big deal and I didn’t want you to get hurt,” Adrien sighed. It was true when Nino first started pursuing Alya, Adrien was not so accepting of the pair. He felt that Alya was just going to use Nino for his fame to further her journalism career. Adrien could admit now that he was projecting his own insecurities on the couple. But before that, he tried several times to break the two of them up and was the cause of a lot of fights when Nino started to doubt Alya. Thankfully, before it was too late, Adrien saw the error of his ways and stopped interfering with their relationship. He was constantly apologizing for his behavior and Alya had just started to begin to warm up to him. Not that they hung out a lot which didn’t help the situation, but Adrien could now see how much Nino loved her. That is all Adrien ever wanted to his friend, was to find true love. 

“You know that might be a reason why she doesn’t like you,” Nino said referring to Marinette who just as fiercely loyal to her best friend as Adrien was. 

“We aren’t talking about her, remember?” Adrien raised his eyebrows at his friend. He already knew that part of the reason Marinette hated him was his treatment to Alya. She had mentioned it a time or two or more at work before. But Adrien didn’t feel the need to apologize to her when he had already apologized to Nino and Alya. 

“Find, then get up and dance at least. There are a ton of hotties on the dance floor. Most of them have been eyeing you for the whole night. You would have your pick,” Nino said pointing to the dance floor. Nino knew Adrien hated dancing but the man needed to get his mind off his head designer. 

“Tolerable is the word I would use. All the ladies, if you could even call them that, are tolerable and not even worth my time,” Adrien replied but thought to himself, ‘Except the one that I can’t, shouldn’t, won’t have.’

Neither Nino or Adrien notice Marinette and Alya standing behind their booth overhearing everything they were saying or Marinette running to the bathroom fighting off tears. 

“Dude, I know that is is a lie. You can’t take your eyes off her when she’s on the dance floor,” Nino said shaking his head. 

“That is not going to happen. She’s my head designer. I don’t need a scandal. Just drop it,” Adrien replied with a little anger behind his words. He wasn’t sure if he was angry at Nino or at himself. 

“All right dude. I am dropping it,” Nino replied. “For now. I got to get ready for my set anyways.” With that Nino left Adrien alone in the booth to drown his thoughts with alcohol. 

************************************************************************************************************************

Marinette was trying to have fun with Alya on the dance floor. She was still getting over her shock that Adrien was at the club or any club for that matter. She knew that Nino was his best friend, but he was such a tight ass she never pictured him at the club scene. Every time she looked over at the booth, she caught him staring at her. It was infuriating and intriguing. Half of her believed he was just judging her like always. The other half was hoping maybe for a drunken hook-up even if she would most likely, probably regret it in the morning especially when she had to see him at work. It also didn’t help that Alya laughed every time she caught Marinette looking over at the booth.

“You two need to get a room,” Alya whisphered screamed into her ear. 

Marinette started to blush from being caught again. “He is the one looking at me and it’s weirding me out.”

“Then dance with another guy. Get your mind off him,” Alya replied waving her hands at all the guys in the club and on the dance floor.

“You know I’m not for one-night hook-ups,” Marinette said rolling her eyes at her friend. “And that is what all the guys here want.”

Alya couldn’t deny that but it didn’t mean she wasn’t going to stop teasing her best friend. “Who knows, one of them could be your prince charming.”

“I don’t need a prince charming, just Mr. Right,” Marinette said laughing. Marinette knew her friend though it was weird that she was hanging on to finding true love and not hooking up with random guys. She was a hopeless romantic at heart. That didn’t mean she didn’t go on dates, but it never ended back at someone’s bedroom. Now if only she could get her brain back on track and stop thinking of a certain blond-haired, green man. There was no way he was going to turn out to be Prince Charming or Mr. Right. 

“Hey, I have to pee before Nino’s set. Come with me,” Alya said dragging Marinette with her.

The bathroom line was relatively short for it being a woman's bathroom at a club. Alya was excited that they hadn’t missed Nino’s start because she wanted to give him a good luck kiss before he started. On their way back from the bathroom, they stopped at the back of the booth where the guys were sitting. Neither of them noticed the girls. Alya was whispering to Marinette that she was going to surprise Nino - the two were always trying to surprise kiss attack each other. They had a tally to see who was winning. Alya stopped though when they heard Nino telling Adrien to go dance with one of the hotties in the club. 

“Tolerable is the word I would use. All the girls here are tolerable and not even worth my time,” Adrien replied. 

Marinette didn’t know why that stung so bad. She covered her mouth as she gasped not wanting to be heard. She tried to stop the tears from falling as she ran to the bathroom with Alya hot on her tail. 

“Marinette are you ok? I’m sure he didn’t mean you.” Alya was giving her friend a hug. 

“I shouldn’t care what he thinks. It’s not like him or want him to notice me or anything. It would just have been nice not to be lumped with every unknown face out there. I just thought…” Marinette replied trying not to cry. She really couldn’t understand why she was letting it get to her. Marinette knew Adrien was an asshole. She wasn’t into him, but the way he looked at her earlier while she was dancing had made her question things. Marinette shook her head. He was an ass and she had to remember that. Not a decent bone in his extremely attractive body. Marinette groaned. 

“Do you think Nino would hate me if I left?”

“Probably not, but I would. Stay with me. Just forget about him. Please?” Alya pouted at her friend giving her puppy dog eyes. 

Marinette groaned again. She could never say no to Alya’s puppy dog eyes. “Fine. I’ll stay but I might just throw a drink in his face.”

Alya laughed. She knew that although Marinette acted like a badass, she would never have the guts to throw a drink in her boss’s face. She grabbed Marinette’s hand and headed out of the bathroom running smack into a well-built guy. He held up his hands to steady both the girls.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just in case anyone was wondering, Alya and Marinette are around 24/25 and Adrien and Nino are around 30. Hope you enjoy this chapter.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Meeting the new guy

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, I know that it had been a while but I am hoping to get back into the story and finish it.

Marinette tried not to stare at the man her and Alya just ran into. The man’s eyes were an intense and beautiful shade of blue. She could tell that he was muscular under a white t-shirt. His blond hair was streaked with purple highlights that matched his dark purple leather jacket. It was edgy and very rock n roll. Marinette didn’t believe in love at first sight but she wouldn't mind looking at this man for the rest of the night. 

“Woah there ladies,” the man said as he pulled his hands off them. “Where are you off to in such a hurry?”

“We are actually headed to our booth to listen to my fiancee’s set. Care to join us?” Alya asked as she nudged Marinette’s side to get her back from her drooling. 

Marinette gasped as Alya’s elbow connected with her side. She glared at her best friend. ‘Yes, please join us. We should at least buy you a drink for running into you.” She smiled up at the guy hoping he would take them up on their offer. 

“Well, who could say no to two gorgeous ladies. I would love to join you. I’m Xavier,” he replied giving Marinette a wink. She almost went weak in the knees when he winked. She was looking forward to getting to know him better. Maybe he was what she needed to get her mind off things or at least someone. 

The two girls lead Xavier back to their booth asking him what he did for a living and what type of drink he would like them to get. However, he wasn’t able to answer because as soon as they got to their booth Adrien growled. Marinette looked at him in shock and saw him staring daggers at Xavier. Adrien could be a jerk but she had never heard him growl before. 

“Adrien Agreste. I never thought I would see you at a place like this. A little below your prim and proper establishments,” Xavier said staring right back at Adrien not backing down. Marinette gasped. She had never heard anyone speak to Adrien like that. Well except maybe herself. 

“Xavier Roth. You should leave,” was all Adrien said in reply still staring daggers at the man. 

Marinette had had enough with Adrien pig-headedness for the day. She was not going to let him ruin her evening. “Adrien, I invited Xavier to join us. So maybe you should leave if you don’t want to be around him. The world doesn’t revolve around you.”

Adrien looked up at Marinette in shock. “You invited him to join us?”

The look of disgust made Marinette feel a bit uneasy but she wouldn’t back down. “Yes. I owe him a drink.” She didn’t elaborate on why but honestly she thought it was known of his business. 

“Fine,” Adrien replied. The girls thought he was going to let it go but to their shock, he got up from the booth. Adrien looked at Alya. “Tell Nino I’m sorry. I’ll text him later.” And with that Adrien left the club not even looking back at the group.

Alya sighed. She walked over to her fiancee to let him know his best friend just walked out of the club. Marinette watched them to see if Nino would be upset. She hoped he didn’t blame her. Nino looked at the booth, frowned at Xavier, and then nodded his head at Alya that he was ok. Marinette couldn’t believe how nice Nino was about the whole thing. 

“Sorry about that. I am assuming you know Adrien so I guess I don’t really have to explain his behavior,” Marinette said turning back to Xavier. He had his arm around the back of the booth where Marinette was sitting. 

“Yeah. We go way back but had a bad fall out,” Xavier said smiling down at her. 

“Not surprised there. I work for the man so nothing really surprised me when it comes to his actions,” Marinette said trying to remember to breathe. 

“You work for him?” Xavier said surprised.

“You are looking at the head designer for Agreste Fashion,” Marinette said proudly. 

“Wow. You must be super talented. I am impressed madame,” Xavier said giving her a slight bow. 

Marinette laughed. Xavier was charming, funny, and sweet. She wondered why Adrien hated him so much. “So tell me, Xavier, what did you do to earn the wrath of the great Adrien Agreste?”

“I’m not sure I should tell you. I wouldn’t want you to think less of your boss,” Xavier answered while giving her another wink. 

Marinette was glad she was sitting down. Those winks were causing her to feel faint. Or maybe it was just his intense blue eyes that seemed to be peering into her soul. But she was curious. “Don’t worry. Nothing could make me think less of him. My opinion is already low.” 

“Well then prepare yourself for it is a sad tale. My dad and his mother were great friends growing up. When we were younger, our parents would set up playdates with each other. We weren’t super close besties, but we were friends. I came to him to ask for help with start-up money for my music studio. I was hoping he would be an investor. He told me to make up a business plan. When I showed him my business plan, he just said no without any reason. And he trashed my name to the other investors I was hoping to get.”

“What an ass,” Marinette angrily muttered. 

Xavier laughed at the fire in Marinette’s words. “Well thank you, Marinette. Not too many people would take my side over the great Adrien Agreste.”

“Oh don’t worry. I usually side against him,” Marinette replied laughing with Xavier. “So what did you do after that? Were you able to start your music career?”

“I have a band. It’s called Kitty Section.”

Marinette tried not to laugh at the name. “Kitty Section? That’s an interesting name.”

“I know but it is memorable. Our lead vocalist named us. She is kind of crazy.”

“So what do you play?”

“The guitar.”

Marinette wanted to let out a squeal. Playing the guitar was on her list of qualities for the perfect guy. This night just kept getting better. “I would love to hear you play sometimes. Maybe I could come to a gig?” Marinette wrung her hands together. She wasn’t usually this forward with guys. Especially one she had just met. 

“Sure. I would love that. I’ll let you know the next time we play.” Xavier said taking one of her hands into his hands. 

Marinette tried to remember to breathe. She was glad Alya had decided to stay with Nino for his set. It had been a while since she had been out on a date with someone her parents hadn’t set her up with. And Xavier was checking off a lot of boxes for what she wanted in a man. They continued to talk and drink all through Nino’s set, gradually sitting closer to each other. Marinette was excited about all the things they seemed to have in common. When Nino’s set ended, Xavier got up saying he had to get going. He had an obligation in the morning that he didn’t want to be too tired for. Marinette gave him her number and he promised to call to invite her to his next gig. 

“Girl, that man is some major eye candy,” Alya said as she walked up to the booth as Xavier was walking away. 

“I know. I gave him my number,” Marinette replied, sighing a little bit. 

Alya squealed for Marinette. “This is what you need. To get out and find a man and get some.”

Marinette shook her head at her friend. She said her goodnights to Alya and Nino and headed home. She couldn’t stop thinking about blue eyes and purple streaked hair. But when she fell asleep she only dreamed of blonde hair and emerald green eyes.


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> More Xavier and Adrien realizes something.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> When I went to post this chapter I realized I hadn't posted chapter 4 so two chapters in one day!

The next day at work was stressful. The morning was stress-free as Marienette was working on the second floor with all the designers working on the clothes for the gala. They had finished designing the men’s line and were waiting on the prototypes. The women’s line was halfway designed but the summer look was giving them a bit of trouble. Marinette enjoyed collaborating with other designers. She had this ritual for them when they got stuck. They sat in a circle and passed around one design. Each person was only allowed to add one thing to the design. It didn’t always end up being a design they used but seeing what other people added helped everyone get their creative juices flowing. This morning session was one of the best they had enabled them to get the women’s summer line completed. However, things turned for the worse when Marinette went back up to her office after lunch. 

Adrien seemed to be waiting for her in the doorway of his office. “Miss Dupain-Cheng, I would like a word with you.” He turned and headed further into his office, sitting in his chair behind his desk. 

Marinette followed him into his office wondering what he wanted now. After last night, she wasn’t really in the mood to talk with him. He motioned to the chairs in front of his desk and she took a seat. 

“Is there a problem with gala?” Marinette asked hoping that that was the case. That was something she could deal with today. Even if it was him complaining about the designs taking too long again. 

“No. It is about Xavier Roth. Under no circumstance is that man allowed in this building,” Adrien said with a straight face. 

Marinette started to turn red, angry red. Who did this guy think he was? “What?”

“It just appeared that last night you were friendly with Xavier Roth and I wanted to let you know that he is not welcomed in this building,” Adrien said, raising one of his eyebrows questioningly at her. He wasn't sure what she was not getting. 

Marinette looked up to the ceiling and counted to five before she replied. “Thank you Mr. Agreste for letting me know about your rule, but just so you know my personal life and whom I am friendly with is no concern of yours.” Marinette rose from her chair and turned to walk across the hall to her office. 

“It is my business if it affects my business. I won’t have your poor judgment ruin Agrest Fashion,” Adrien called out after she walked out of his office. 

Marinette turned and glared at Adrien. “You have a lot of nerve. This company is my life too you know. I would never do anything to jeopardize its success.” Then she stormed into her office, slamming the door and giving him the finger through the closed door. 

The week had been hell since her latest interaction with Adrien about Xavier. Adrien was nitpicking every decision the design team was making which meant he was really just questioning Marinette. Why this red and not that red? Why this necklace instead of making a necklace? And so forth. Marinette couldn’t be in the same building with the man anymore without wanting to do him bodily harm, so she called Alya for an SOS meet up to help her calm down. Marinette decided to meet up with Alya at a coffee shop close to Agreste Fashion. She needed comfort food and drink before she could go back to work. 

“I know that he is Nino’s best friend, but the guy is an ass Alya,” Marinette said as they sat down with their hot drinks and food. 

“Nothing new there. Though Nino swears we don’t know the real Adrien,” Alya replied, taking a sip of her tea. “But let’s not talk about the boss from hell. Tell me about the designs for the gala. Any hints you can give me?”

“Is this on or off the record?” Marinette said laughing at her reporter friend. Alya was always looking for a scoop.

“On the record of course. Did you forget that you owe me a scoop? Just think of all the buzz the gala were to get if I wrote up a little blurb for it,” Alya replied, winking at her friend. 

“All I can say is that everyone will be blown away with some of the new directions that we are going in. We are reaching outside our normal customer base while still appeasing our current customers,” Marinette said very diplomatically. She would love to give Alya more information but she was already on thin ice with Adrien. All she needed was him to see some news article stating facts that they hadn’t discussed previously. 

Alya threw her hands up. “I know you can’t say anything now, but do you at least promise to give me an interview the night of the gala?”

“Of course. You will be the first reporter I give an interview to after I get the ok from the boss,” Marinette promised, grabbing Alya’s hand. “What are best friends for?”

At that moment Alya noticed a certain guy walking into the coffee shop and decided that a change of subject was needed. “So on a different note, have you heard from Xavier?”

Marinette frowned. She hadn’t and was a little disappointed. She was hoping he would call or text. She thought they had some type of connection. “No, and I’m not sure I will. It’s been over a week.”

“Do you want to see him again?” Alya asked with a mischievous glint in her eye. 

“I don’t know. I thought we had a connection but with the whole Adrien thing it might get too complicated,” Marinette replied sighing. 

“Then don’t turn around,” Alya was trying not to laugh as Marinette raised her eyebrows and turned around. There standing in line to order was Xavier. 

Marinette whipped her head back to Alya. “Do you think he saw us?”

“Oh I know he saw us. Or at least one of us.”

At that moment Marinette felt a hand on her shoulder. She looked up and found two perfect blue eyes staring down at her. “Marinette, this is an amazing surprise.”

Marinette tried to remember to breathe. There was something about Xavier that just made her heart and mind stop working. “Xavier,” she squeaked. “What brings you here?” Marinette groaned internally at her stupid question. Of course, he was here to get coffee. It was a coffee shop after all. 

“Just trying out a new spot for coffee. I like to know where the best spots are,” Xavier replied grinning at the clearly flustered girl. 

“And how is this one holding up,” Marinette asked, gaining back some of her brain function though her heart was still beating erratically. 

“So far it is my favorite,” Xavier said, giving Marinette a wink. 

Marinette knew if she had been standing she would have swooned. All she wanted to do was gaze into this man’s eyes but was interrupted by a cough from Alya. Alya was trying to suppress her amusement at Marinette’s obvious infatuation with this guy. 

“Sorry to interrupt you two but I need to be getting back to work. Just got a text about my latest article,” Alya lied trying to give these two a way to have some time alone. 

Marinette got up to hug her best friend good-bye. “Ok. Thanks for coming out and helping me calm down. I can always count on you.”

“Well I am guessing someone else could help you calm down,” Alya whispered into Marinette’s ear. Marinette’s face turned scarlet. “I’ll see you back at the apartment.” Alya gave Marinette a wink as she headed out the door and back to work. 

Xavier slid into the seat that Alya had just been occupying, “So why did you need Alya to help you calm down if you don’t mind me asking?”

“Oh just work stuff,” Marinette said, not wanting to bring up her boss in their conversation. 

Xavier gave her a knowing look. “Adrien being his sweet old self again?”

Marinette started laughing. “I don’t think anyone would use the word sweet and Adrien in the same sentence.”

“Oh, and what words would you use to describe him?” Xavier said leaning slightly over the table. 

“Words that aren’t appropriate in public,” Marinette replied leaning closer to Xavier as well. She was drawn to him but she just wasn’t sure if it was his looks, his person, or their mutual dislike of Adrien. “But let’s not waste our time talking about him.”

Xavier and Marinette stayed at the coffee house for another hour talking about different things in their life. Marinette noticed that Xavier loved to talk about himself and wasn’t too keen on asking questions about her. Plus anytime he could relate a topic back to Adrien, he did but it was only with a snide comment or a jab at the man. Marinette also noticed that as the conversation went on, her heart began to beat normal again especially as she realized that Xavier was a lot to handle for a long time. Still, she wanted to give him the benefit of the doubt. Maybe he was nervous, it was only their second meeting. He promised to call her again and went in to kiss her good-bye, but Marinette turned her face so the kiss landed on her cheek. Xavier just smiled at her and winked as they parted ways. 

Xavier popped up a lot over the next month, whether it was at the coffee shop near her work, at a club Alya had dragged her to, or at her parent's bakery. There were not a lot of calls or texts between the two of them, so Marinette was a little curious about how he always found her. A little voice in the back of her mind worried about Xavier stalking her, but she never let it surface because he was so attentive and a little bit romantic. 

Marinette was eating lunch with her little sister, Bridgette, one Saturday when another one of those moments happened. The bell of the bakery rang as a new customer entered. Marinette looked up to see Xavier standing by the door holding a bouquet of flowers. 

“Xavier, what brings you here today?” Marinette said standing up to give him a hug and a quick kiss on the cheek. 

“I was just in the neighborhood and thought I would see if my favorite girl was available to eat lunch but I see you are already eating,” Xavier replied, returning the hug and kiss. 

“You can join us. We just started. I’ll let dad know to make you a sandwich and get a vase for the flowers,” Marinette said, pushing away the little voice asking why he would think to look for her at her parent’s bakery when she didn’t live with her parents anymore. As she turned to head into the kitchen, her parents came out. 

“Xavier! It’s so nice to see you again. I was just telling Marinette she needed to invite you over more. We love having you here. It’s like you are almost part of the family,” Sabine, Marinette’s mother, said giving Xavier a huge hug. Marinette's face turned bright pink. Her parents adored Xavier. Her mom was a little extreme and always hinting at the two of them getting together. “Oh, those flowers are beautiful, are they for Marinette?” Savine continued gushing about the bouquet still in Xavier’s hands. 

“All of them except two,” Xavier said, picking out two of the flowers and handing one to Sabien and one Bridgette. Bridgette giggled while Xavier gave her a wink. 

The little voice tried to come back asking about the attention Xavier always gave Bridgette but it was interrupted by her mom gushing, “Oh Xavier, you are just the perfect gentleman. Make sure you keep this one Marinette.”

“Mom,” Marinette sighed fearing that her face would be stained pink by all the embarrassment. Xavier just gave her one of his signature winks. 

As they all sat down to eat lunch, Marinette had a harder time keeping that little voice at bay. They were all joking and laughing, but Marinette couldn’t help notice all the little winks Xavier would give Bridgette. Plus he still seemed to only want to talk about himself and the feeling that he was a lot to handle for a long period of time was still there. She just tried to push the voice farther down. Her family adored him so he couldn’t be that bad. 

After lunch, Marinette and Xavier decided to take a walk around the park near her house. Once again, she felt those voices drift away. When they were alone together, Xavier was romantic, holding her hand, giving her pecks on the cheek, and picking up flowers to give to her. She could tell that Xavier was really into her and wanted to take their relationship to the next step. Marinette was beginning to feel guilty that she kept holding back from Xavier. Then an idea popped into her head. 

“Hey, Xavier you know that the big Agreste Fashion gala is coming up?” Marinette asked, trying to gauge his reaction. 

He just hummed in agreement. 

“Well, I was wondering if you would like to be my plus one?”

Xavier turned to stare at her. She couldn’t quite read the expression on his face. “I am not sure the almighty Adrien would like that?”

Marinette got a little frustrated. Why did all their conversations have to come back to Adrien? “Well, it’s not up to him. It’s not at Agreste Fashion and my personal life is none of his business.” 

Xavier gave her one of his signature smiles. “Well if that is the case, then I would love to be your plus one.” Xavier gave her a quick hug and peck on the cheek. 

Marinette sighed happy that he agreed but those pesky thoughts came rushing back in making her wonder if she was making the right decision. 

***********************************************************************************************************************

Adrien stared at the door that Marinette had just closed. He could imagine her sticking up her middle fingers at him through the wooden door. He sighed. He knew she would get mad at him about telling her that Xavier was not allowed in the building but it had to be said. Although he did trust Marinette with the designs for his fashion company, he didn’t trust that slimy Xavier. Of course, he could have told Marinette the truth, but it was personal and they didn’t do personally. Adrien sighed again looking longingly at the closed door. He was sure this would blow over. Xavier would move on to his next target and his and Marinette’s relationship would go back to how it was before. And that is what he wanted, wasn’t it?

Adrien was sure that he was going to have a permanent migraine. This past month was a living hell. Marinette was driving him crazy. He decided that he was going to get back on her good graces by being more invested in the design process. Wasn’t that one of her complaints? So he began to ask questions as to the decision process. Why did they pick this unique shade of red instead of the standard red? Why was this necklace better than one that she could design? She was after all the best designer he had ever met. But all he was met with sighs of exasperation and he was sure she had growled at him a couple of times. 

Then he started seeing Xavier and Marinette hanging out together outside the office. He would catch them at the coffee shop by the office laughing and flirting. And it wasn’t there, it was at his favorite bakery or walking in the park. He was beginning to think he had broken a mirror at some point that was giving him all this bad luck. On one hand, he couldn’t believe that Marinette was falling for Xavier’s act but on the other hand, he knew personally how convincing Xavier could be. All this led him to many nights drinking with Nino. 

“Dude, you need to slow down. I think you might be on your third one. Is work really this bad?” Nino asked, taking Adrien’s drink away from him. 

“No. It’s her,” Adrien replied, ordering another drink from the bartender. 

“Ahh. She's still dating the jerk?” Nino asked. He didn’t know the whole story about Adrien and Xavier but knew that Adrien hated the guy and probably for good reason. The guy was slimy at least that is what Nino thought every time he had the misfortune to meet him.

“I just don’t get it. She is smart. How can she fall for all his bull?” Adrien said, shaking his head. “If it was anyone else, I would be happy for her.”

Nino stared at his best friend in disbelief. Then he started to laugh when he realized that Adrien thought he was telling the truth.

“What?” Adrien asked looking over at his friend bent over laughing. 

“You would not be happy if she was dating anyone else. I know you hate that she is dating Xavier but you would hate it if it was Joe Smoe,” Nino said shaking his head at his friend. 

“Who is Joe Smoe?” Adrien asked, getting mad at the man he had never met that had captured Marinette’s attention. Adrien was trying to think if they had any employees named Joe. 

“No one. Just some imaginary guy I made up. Stop plotting his death,” Nino said placing his head on Adrien’s arm so the man would look at him. “You have been in love with Marinette since the moment that you hired her and that is why you are upset right now.”

Adrien’s jaw dropped. “What? No. I mean no I am not. She is my designer.” Adrien wanted to laugh at Nino’s accusation but he couldn’t. He started to think about his head designer. The way her tongue poked out when she was contrasting. Everytime she smirked at him after a comeback or when she sassed him. Her smile after designing another amazing outfit. How her cheeks would get pink when he gave her one of his rare compliments. And her bluebell eyes that haunted most of his dreams. 

“Shit.”

Nino sympathetically clapped Adrien on his shoulder. “So now that you admit, what are you going to do?”

Adrien stood up. “Nothing. I am going to do nothing. She is with Xavier and she is my head designer. It wouldn’t work.” Adrien walked out of the bar without even saying good-bye to Nino. He needed to clear his head. He was in love with Marinette and he needed to figure out how to fall out of love with her so life could go back to normal. Because that is what he wanted, right?

The following Monday at work changed that all. On his desk sat a note from Marinette. 

Adrien,   
Wanted to give you a heads up that I asked Xavier as my plus one for the gala. I know you guys have a pass so I didn’t want any surprises on the big night.   
MDC

Adrien stared at the note. Anger boiled through him. Xavier was not going to get Marinette. Adrien started forming a plan. It was time to start showing Marinette that she had better options.

**Author's Note:**

> I found this gem in some old documents. It made me laugh reading through it again so I thought I would try to finish it. Hope you enjoy.


End file.
